Philippines, Piracy and Property Rights

My trip to Quiapo (no, not patterned after Ricky Lee's scriptwriting manual) remains vivid in my head as the songs of the tinderos and tinderas kept going: Dibidi... dibidi... dibidi.

Naalala ko tuloy ang balita kahapon. Gusto ng mga pharmaceutical lobbyists sa America na bigyan ng economic sanctions ang Pilipinas dahil sa Cheaper Medicines Act ng huli. Violation daw yun ng intellectual property rights (IPR) ng mga malalalaking pharmaceutical companies. Pumirma kasi ang Pilipinas sa isang kasunduan under the General Agreement on Tariff and Trades with regard IPR.

Pero kung may punto nga ang mga American lobbyists, ibig sabihin, kailangang mahal ang mga gamot. Ibig ding sabihin, kung ang isang mahirap ay magkakaroon ng karapatan na maka-afford ng gamot para sa isang malusog na pangangatawan ito ay isang violation din ng IPR. Ibig ding sabihin, ang tanga-tanga talaga ng mga Pilipino dahil ibinoboto ng mga ito ay mga opisyal na basta na lang pumipirma ng mga hindi naiintindihan na dokumento. Buti na lang merong Gloria Arroyo na matapos sumabog ang balita na negatibo sa bansa ang implikasyon ng ZTE Broadband Deal, minadyik na lang para mawala ang mga dokumento. Galing di ba?

Pero isang malinaw na implikasyon din ang kahalagahan ng amendments sa Konstitusyon - amendments na hindi lang basta "able to read and write" ang kandidato kundi "able to understand" din ng kanyang binabasa at sinusulat.

But while we agree sa karapatan ng mga nag-isip, nag-imbento, gumawa, nag-develop, etc., ng mga bagay-bagay (gamot, pelikula, damit, musika atbp.), dapat gumawa rin ng paraan ang gobyerno para hindi naman lahat pabor sa mga may-ari ng IPR. Ang trabaho ng gobyerno ay balansehin ang mga interes at gumalaw patungo sa ikauunlad ng bawat isa. Puwedeng isa ang Cheaper Medicines Act pero huwag naman sanang maging bahag ang buntot ang gobyerno pag umalma na ang ibang bansa. Ikalawa, huwag lang tumutok sa gamot. Tutukan din ang iba pang bagay tulad ng Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Bill na hanggang ngayon, nasa drawer pa rin ng mga kongresista. Matagal na ata yun na nai-file pero mukhang hanggang filing cabinet na lang.

Ikatlo, tutukan din ang mga smuggler na kasabwat ng ilang tao diyan sa gobyerno. Mukha kasing ang nangyari, everybody happy lagi at naging "customary" na ang snuggling. Kung may hinuhuli man, ito yung maliliit at mahihina mag-coordinate. Ganun nga ba talaga yun?

Siyempre, lagyan ng pangil ang mga batas. Huwag ng gawin yung slogan ni Erap na "walang kai-kaibigan at walang kama-kamag-anak" kasi may lusot dun. Wala na ngang kaibigan (kaya nga umalma si Jun Lozada dahil kumonti ang kita), at wala na ring kamag-anak kasi panay na lang "kapamilya". Otherwise, bakit sinasabing "all roads of corruption lead to Rome... este, Home... I mean, Malacanang"?

Merceditas and the ethics of lawyers

Q: Do you know the reason why lawyers cannot enter directly either the heaven or the hell?
A: Because they keep on questioning the guidelines of St. Peter.


But kidding aside, lawyers have this Canon of Professional Ethics which they need to follow "that the public shall have absolute confidence in the integrity and impartiality of administration of justice." And Merceditas Gutierrez is a lawyer before becoming an Ombudsman. But it seems that her breeding is not of a lawyer as she personally lashed back at her critics who followed the rules and filed an impeachment complaint against her ... o lawyers lang ang dapat sumunod sa Canon of Professional Ethics?

Kung sabagay, why should we expect kay Merceditas to be following the Canon eh simpleng argumentum ad hominem hindi niya nga alam na fallacy pala. But even then, her speech makes a very good comic show. Here's the take from Inquirer.Net:

Phil Star: Profligate leadership by example

The Philippine Star's editorial today is worth reading... and sharing. Below is a copy. For the source, click here.

Profligate leadership by example

While other countries have slipped into recession, President Arroyo appears determined to show to the world how healthy the Philippine economy is: by traipsing around the globe. Her latest eight-day jaunt across Europe, the Middle East and North America cost taxpayers a whopping P123 million — and that’s the amount that Malacañang was willing to acknowledge.

What did Filipino taxpayers get in return? Few people remember exactly why the President went to Davos, Switzerland, or to Italy. If she went to the World Economic Forum to brag about the Philippine example, the international community seemed unimpressed.

Malacañang cited benefits from the entire trip amounting to an even more whopping $2 billion. Where did that fantastic figure come from? Palace officials said the President received pledges of aid from Saudi Arabia totaling $500 million and, from Bahrain, an investment commitment of $350 million for a hotel project in Makati City. In the United States, where her quest for a coveted photograph with new President Barack Obama ended in humiliation, there is a possibility that the Philippines can export $1.2 billion worth of textiles.

Decisions regarding foreign aid or major investments are not made as quickly as the President decides to fly to Washington for a photo op. The groundwork for decision-making is laid over several months, and the final commitment does not need the presence of the head of the recipient country. The original reason cited for the President’s Middle Eastern trip was to act as job-hunter for overseas Filipino workers. But the region has been hit by the precipitous plunge in world demand for crude oil. Projects and major investments in the Middle East are on hold, foreign workers are being sent home, and it’s doubtful that recovery will be quick.

Textile exports to the US? The Philippine textile industry has been devastated by competition from China and India. And if there is textile to speak of for exports, are Americans buying at this time? As for that unfortunate pilgrimage to Washington, where the President did not merit even a nod or word of acknowledgment from her US counterpart, the embarrassment should be enough to keep her home at least for the duration of the global slump. But then that would be too much to expect of this President. If members of Congress and even police officers are inveterate junketeers at taxpayers’ expense, it is because they are simply following their leader’s example.